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If you put a few of these techniques to work, you will dramatically increase your ability to sell and be successful and you may actually feel comfortable while doing it.

What is call reluctance? Whether you call it procrastination, wasting time or chatting with office staff, there is no doubt you are familiar with the issue.

Think of the sales person who hangs around the office, talking to co-workers, shuffling paper, reading emails and fixing the printer. The issue is not exactly what they are doing but what they are not doing. They are not making prospecting calls, they are not calling leads and they are not making sales.

You get up every day and head into the office with every intention of getting on the phone and finding new prospects. Everything is fine until the first dial starts to ring, your palms sweat, your heart rate increases and you pray to get a voice mail. Then the prospect answers, you stumble over your words, you forget why you are calling, they reject you, and you hang up hoping no one else in the office heard that call.

This is a problem that plagued me early in my career. I hated the idea of calling someone to sell them something, and I was in sales.
This is what I did for a living. So why would someone who makes a living on selling commission-based products get into a field where he is uncomfortable selling?
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Well, it happens much more often than you think. What is comes down to is people generally avoid things that are unpleasant and uncomfortable — its human nature. But since most people have a hard time admitting and accepting their own self defeating behavior, the real challenge in defeating this behavior is confronting it head on. Recognize it for what it is and start to deal with it.

Truth be told, it will probably never get easy for you to do. There will probably always be some level of discomfort in making the calls necessary to be successful. But there are a few things I have found to make it a bit more tolerable.

1. Find warm leads to call. Find those that may have an interest in what you are selling. Find people that may have a reason to listen to your pitch and what it is you are selling. This works for anything you are selling from insurance to vacuum cleaners.

2. Relax and breathe. If you answer the phone with anxiety or fear in your voice, your prospect will feel that from you. Take a few deep cleansing breaths before you dial, clear your head and get your thoughts together. Sit up in your chair, unclench your fists and teeth and when the prospect answers, go for it. This tip does wonders for me to calm me down.

3. Be confident and 100 percent sold on what you are offering. Know your product, believe in your product and it will show in your presentation.

4. Think back on times where you made presentations that went well and a client was acquired. Remind yourself that you are prepared, you do know more that your prospect about what you are selling, you are there for a reason and they need what you have.

If you put a few of these techniques to work, you will dramatically increase your ability to sell and be successful and you may actually feel comfortable while doing it.

The telephone is one of the most incredible inventions man has invented. It allows us to communicate on a global basis; it allows us to overcome barriers; it can be a incredible tool to motivate someone to action. If you fear the phone and if you have reluctance to call, you are not alone. But with some very simple techniques, you can make it a vital part of your selling activity and you may even come to enjoy it as I have.

So go make some dials today, practice a few of these ideas and see if you can make a sale today, then let me know about it. Happy dialing!

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About the Author

I am a strategic and highly influential leader in diverse product and service enterprises, applying more than 10 years of experience to the achievement of exceptional relationship management, team performance, and profits. I spent over 5 years in the BGA distribution marketplace and was instrume... More